Designs for HS2 bullet train drawn up in city

A BID to create Britain’s first bullet train for the new HS2 high speed rail line has been launched from a new centre in Birmingham.

Bombardier Transportation and Hitachi Rail have created a new HS2 development centre to draw up blueprints for an iconic train.

A team of 50 experts, including engineers, designers and environmental specialists, has been put together to work up the proposals at a base in Millennium Point, overlooking the site of the planned Curzon Street HS2 station.

The team is developing concepts for the fastest train ever operated in the UK, travelling at up to 225mph on the link between the West Midlands and London when it opens in 2026.

The trains will also be designed to make them “classic compatible”, to travel on the rest of the rail network.

The final bid will be submitted from the new Birmingham centre to HS2 Ltd by February and the £2.7 billion contract to design and build 54 trains is due to be awarded in March 2020.

Hitachi Rail managing director Karen Boswell said: “Apart from creating much needed additional rail capacity, one of the main aims of HS2 is to boost regional growth and help re-balance our economy.

“We felt it was important to reflect this by locating our bid centre in Birmingham, and to further increase Hitachi’s presence across the UK.

“We aim to build a new British classic train, and our team of experts will be working flat out over the coming months to develop a truly world-class winning bid.”

Richard Hunter, managing director UK of Bombardier Transportation, said: “HS2 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the nation, and in Birmingham that transformation is happening already.

“The city was the obvious choice for our HS2 bid centre, and it is from here that experts from Bombardier and Hitachi are already developing an iconic train fleet capable of winning the bid for this vital project.”